Pages

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Image via WikipediaFinally after coming so close over the last few seasons, three Semi Final loses, three new managers but we're finally there. Ranieri almost got us there but Monaco got the better of us and it was a certain Special One to eventually left the trophy with Porto back then. In doing so he departed the club to join the team of Blue. He reached the Semi Finals twice, failing both times against the same team! That team was Liverpool! Today we faced them again, 1-1 from the first leg and with the Away goal counting in our favour. Could Avram Grant do what the other's had failed to do, could he get his hands on what Roman Abramovich coverts the most? That question remains unanswered for the time being but it's still a possibility as Chelsea are going to Moscow!!

An amazing game, Chelsea were the much better team in the first half, creating the chances and making Liverpool look plain. Before the match Liverpool manager Rafa Benetiz criticised Drogba as being to theatrical. You could have put money on him scoring and his goal celebration of first diving then celebrating in front of the Liverpool dug out said it all. The second half started and only Liverpool came out as Chelsea were flat. They pressed and the inevitable goal came and from Liverpool's player of the moment Fernando Torres taking the game in to extra time.

Having failed so many times at this point over the last few years I admit I was full of so many different emotions. Playing a game with the children to try and not get too tense and feeling every minute. Essien found the back of the net only for the goal to be ruled offside although none of the players in the box were interfering with play. Then came the turning point, Ballack fouled in the box, penalty. Frank Lampard stood over the ball, a doubt to start the match having lost his mother in the week. He shot, and scored meaning now that the game could no longer go to penalties. Drogba then latched on to an Anelka cross to make it 4-2 on the night and almost book Chelsea's place in the final. There was still late drama though as Liverpool had a penalty shout of their own and Babel hit a late goal to make it a nervous final minutes.

Never had any doubts though, can't wait for the final next month it is going to be incredible. Hopefully for all the right reasons and ending with celebrating Chelsea getting their hands on the trophy with big ears!!

Image via WikipediaI am not very good at organising anything, when I do it normally doesn't work out how I intend. Firstly tomorrow I am taking the time off to take the family to Alton Towers. Just looking out of the window you may be thinking why bother. It's not looking good as it has rained for the last couple of days and the outlook for tomorrow is more rain. My hands are tied though as I sent off some tokens that I collected with the view that the date range I applied for would indeed mean that it would cover that period giving me flexibility. Wrong answer! The date range is obviously narrowed down and then a set date is allocated, I end up with midweek so I have to take the children out of school for a day and also it's miserable weather. We're going to pick up some mac's or possibly a tent to run around under like a giant tortoise!

Next up I am planning on taking everyone away for a break, same tokens collected although this time it's more flexible. You would think as their mother is planning on taking them away as well and this falls around the same period. Leaving me with what looks like a one date possibility! You win some and you lose some I suppose and hopefully all will fall in to place and we'll have the best holidays ever!! Umbrellas at the ready!

Image by BLAS'08 via FlickrAnd none more so important than last night, what a goal it was as well. He doesn't score many now but when he does it's worth the wait. I personally felt that Barcelona would beat Manchester United last night. Especially as the chips are down for Barca at the moment, okay Man Utd have had some bad press but they are in a very strong position. It's only the media playing out a burn out, players running on empty and tactical problems. I think our press have a habit of playing their hand as that there are problems, then why not as it shifts newspapers.

Barcelona dominated the possession and it required United to be at their best defensively last night. When the ball came out to Scholes I thought he would be closed down but he wasn't and he unleashed a curling shot that left Valdes with no chance. It was against the run of play but that's football sometimes, United had a good spell just after the goal but then Barcelona took control again. It was a great end to the match although Barcelona couldn't weave their way through to create a clear cut chance.

So United make it to the final and in doing so lay down what we already know that the Premier League is the place to play football now. Our teams are too strong and it's looking like this will be a golden era now! With Chelsea and Liverpool playing tonight and an all English final confirmed, also the only team to knock out an English club has and will only be an English club this season. Can't wait for tonight as I am hoping that it is our time now! Whatever the outcome the final next month will be amazing!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

What is going on in the world today, increasingly there are stories coming out that leave me wondering what is up with people. There is the regular shooting in schools in America, terrorist threats and attacks, trouble on the streets, drugs, depraved people and situations sinking to new lows all the time that defy belief. Personally I think that anything against children is disgraceful, they are innocent and bringing them into direct contact with anything they don't understand is wrong let alone anything that can harm them. In the news at the moment is the story about Josef Fritzl, not only does he look a peculiar but what he has done is unforgivable.

Mr. Fritzl admitted he held his daughter captive for 24 years in the cellar with three children who never saw sunlight. In total he fathered seven children with her, one, a twin passed away and the other three he raised himself with his wife. His wife who is mother to her and six other children to him was unaware that this was taking place according to reports. He got around authorities by telling them his daughter had dropped of the children as babies the first with a note. Saying that she was unable to raise the baby and they were taken in, adopted and raised normally.

This all came to light when one of the children, a girl Kerstin 19, was taken ill and the hospital found a note in her pocket. They then alerted the police and they released the remaining captives from there dungeon. As a parent I can't see how this man could live with this horrible act for a day let alone 24 years. And what he did to her is appalling, hopefully there is no further part to this story as I read in the Sun today that he owns another property.

Here is footage of the confrontation between Chelsea staff and Manchester United players after the match at Stamford Bridge. According to the newspapers the two main offenders are Patrice Evra from Man Utd and Chelsea groundsman Sam Bethell. No idea what caused the confrontation although apparently there isn't a racist motive. From the clip it shows an exchange with Bethell throwing a punch in Evra's direction and then Evra being pulled away by Chelsea stewards. It's not a good advertisement for the Premiership and hopefully the investigation underway will lead to the correct punishments!

Monday, April 28, 2008

Twitter for what it is which is basically 140 characters to come across meaningful and generate interest doesn't sound like it will get off the ground! Making what you submit popular so that people will follow you also sounds like a non starter! It does though and in a massive way as the site is hugely popular and for me it not only gives me updates from sites I actively follow/participate in but it also gives me in roads to the author. It's regarded as a site for the tech savvy and geeks but I think it's moving away from that and heading for the mainstream. Nothing could confirm that more than this morning my girlfriend signed up to see what all the fuss is about. Will it keep her interested for more than a few days? We shall see?!?!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

After the football yesterday we found ourselves wandering around Bromley without a purpose, it was a really nice day so we decided that we would head to Shoreditch for the afternoon. We had left it late but it wasn't the end of the world as we figured we would hit some bars, sample some food and just get in the mood. Arrived in quick time and then drove about for ages looking for a parking space. After finding one I needed change so I ventured into a local corner shop. The cost of the parking was £4 an hour but in talking to the shopkeeper he gave us a ticket for £5 for the whole afternoon. Result!

Anyway we walked around Brick Lane for a while checking out the shops and I listened as my Girl's wish list of clothing seemed to quadruple by the minute. It was all good fun and needing something to justify our shop we picked up some earrings and walked into the main food area. I must have not looked too good for the day as straight away I was approached by a guy wanting some Ketamine. Charming that this is how I come across with a first impression, I bored the Gentleman off and then walked on. Eventually we ended up in 93 East and it was going off in here! The music was in the style of Crystal Castles and These New Puritans and the crowd were loving it. We rocked out as well getting into it but where I was driving I couldn't really have a drink so eventually we moved on.

After walking around we bumped into Ross who was in Project Catwalk, and saw a fella from GMTV and his partner. My Girl got really starstruck here and I had to try my hardest to calm her down as she was like a rocket had gone off. We trecked to Hoxton but it wasn't really alive so we came home. Today has been a peaceful day really, baby returned to us, watched the Grand Prix and we went to a Garden Centre. Here we made a school boy mistake and gave baby some Fudge. Whatever was in this really set her off and she has been on one today, kind of reminded me of the movie with the cheeky child who just couldn't resist being naughty. Answers on a postcard if you know what movie I am referring to...

Saturday, April 26, 2008

'Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.'

I agree with that as well, even more so today as not only was it my sons football presentation but it was also a small matter of a game between Chelsea and some team from Manchester. After dropping my Girl off to college I headed to football to meet up with my parents and the children. As today was presentation day there was a brief warm up before the action commenced, a football tournament to see what the kids are made of. There was some impressive skill from them, it emerged over the course of the matches played that Boy prefers playing in defence. I questioned whether he was going to score and he told me that he was just going to smash everyone. I asked him to do that with getting the ball and the sheer determination in his face was quality. He eventually finished with a certificate which was wicked but with further awards available hopefully in thirteen weeks time at the next presentation he will go on further.

Me and my daughter watched from the side with my parents and she does make me laugh. It didn't start too well though as she wasn't happy about my new tattoo. If you scroll through my pictures you will have seen a tattoo of her mother and her as a baby. This has now been replaced with a Carp which my tattooist designed for me. I could understand her being upset as I feel she took it personally but I went for a walk with her and talked things through about moving on and everything and she understood. She is so big now, she's looking forward to my next tattoo of her now as I have a space reserved and the picture I have chosen has her seal of approval.I'll finish with the small match in West London, a win being the only result needed and that is exactly what the team in blue provided. It was an amazing match, Chelsea had United on the back foot from the offset and they were under pressure for most of the first half. Was worried that we wouldn't convert this into goals but on the stroke of half time Ballack nicked in to head home the goal that would hopefully bring us level on points. It wasn't to be though as Rooney latched on to a Carvalho mistake and slotted home to bring it level. Rooney was in a bad way so had to be substituted and on came that boy Ronaldo. Figured this would be game over but we hung in and then courtesy of a Carrick handball up stepped Ballack and sealed an emphatic victory from the spot. There was late drama with two goal line clearances from Ashley Cole and Sheva and it threatened to boil over at the death but we saw the game out. Classic match which had it all, a tussle between Ballack and Drogba which will have Chelsea in the news for all the wrong reasons, Rio caught a fan whilst kicking some boarding and just learnt on Match of the Day that it all went off after the game between United and the Chelsea pitch staff. It's just a game, isn't it?

Friday, April 25, 2008

Image via WikipediaLife in a box, I always wonder how many surveillance cameras follow me during my average day. Big brother is always watching, with our mobile phones, they know where we are at all times as well. Do we live in a police state or are we approaching the dawn of something new, where if we aren't connected we are an outsider. Already we have social networking sites that track us, using GPRS to plot where we are. I checked out one a few months back and just left myself in the middle of a roundabout. I like being involved but that is a bit too much for me, anyone could plot your next move and do anything. Especially in the age of cyber bullying which seems to be in the news more lately. I think I am beyond that as that's mainly during the young impressionable age and I feel that's behind me now and I am getting old. I say that as looking at people on the tube, I see middle age, people from early 20's through to those with grey hair appearing. I am in that bracket!!

When you are in your youth you see people and can differentiate, now though it's just a sea of workers for me. Trapped in their 9 - 5 lifestyles waiting for something amazing to happen in their lives. I think I will start wearing a mask to work, or go to work wearing clown paint as someone could stand next to me today and there is no chance I will remember them tomorrow. Are we ignorant, are we Lemmings or Sheep to that extent, the people behind the cameras ushering us to work and then home again like shepherds.

Strategically placed advertisements telling us what to buy and how we should look! You should so buy that, you've earned it, you have made it now! Life is fight club, life is a fight to be recognised now! I came home from shopping last night and there was a program on about young children fighting. Knocking lumps out of each other and who's at the side, the parents, cheering them on. For what? To say that the child is a champion, a loser? To raise their profile or that of the child's it doesn't make sense to me. Then there is the guy who became a 'bug farm' letting all manor of insects and bugs infect him. Madness, but then this is evolution we are becoming this because it's what we know we are fighting for recognition. In reflecting we all follow our friends in blogs, social networking and in turn we are followed by Big Brother looking after it's police state. Well have a good day and stay alert as they're watching!!!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Image by Twyford via FlickrWatched most of the game last night, and what became clear was that the worlds best player is human and can have a bad day in the office. The rest of the playing field can let out a sigh of relief as he does feel pressure like the rest of us. When he stepped up to take the penalty rewarded in the opening two minutes for handball I was expecting only one outcome...

It didn't come, instead Ronaldo missed and the ball went wide. He was still a threat throughout the match but it was Messi who was the danger man. I admire both players and would love for them to turn out a Stamford Bridge weekly. This match was billed as a contest between arguably the two most gifted young players in the world, Messi came through edging it in part one of this encounter. At times the ball appeared to stick to his feet although with all his mastery he couldn't conjure up the goal that the Catalan faithful would have loved. This was the encounter that Alex Ferguson believes should have been the final and although there were no goals it was a good game. Not a classic but with the return leg next Tuesday this is poised nicely!!

Woke up this morning and the AIR application leapfrog continues, firstly I came across the story that Alert Thingy had updated to version 1.3. Reading the intel the new update not only allows Twitter and FriendFeed in the same window, it also includes a new addition in the form of a Flickr uploader tool. All you need to do is just drag-and-drop your pictures and it's uploaded to the site. I haven't had a chance to test the Flickr uploader yet but allow the same for Picasa which I use for my Blog by default and I will be impressed. What's great is that in including Tweets in Alert Thingy the client is de-dupping so you don't get the FriendFeed notification that you have submitted a message on Twitter. Also another thing I noticed is where before posting to Twitter from Alert Thingy would display as 'from web' it now says 'from AlertThingy'. It's the little things that make me so happy, all I want to do is live by the sea....

No sooner had this been available for a few hours when give us a twhirl, another client is released version u.0.8 which allows you to connect to your friendfeed account from the same application you use to read from and post to Twitter. They have also cleaned up some bugs which will hopefully make the client a lot more stable and also made some changes to the interface. I like the improvements to the button panel as the combination button wasn't very good and the all-in-view panel makes it quicker to navigate.

My overall view is that I will still use both clients for the time being, but AlertThingy is making all the right moves. Where before I would use Twhirl for Twitter and AlertThingy just to follow FriendFeed I am leaning more towards AlertThingy now although I do still prefer the interaction with my friends on Twhirl. Hopefully you're getting there, and that my view will help you decide what client to go with! Or not!?!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Facebook Chat originally launched on April 6th and it's been gradually released in other areas but this morning it became available to the masses. Not so significant to people already using instant messenger services but still another feather in the cap for Facebook. Arriving to work this morning I was alerted to the chat feature as I logged in to check my friends activity. There were a small fraction of my friends online and I expect that to increase as more people become aware of the feature being active. I haven't been swamped by people contacting me thankfully but then I don't have a massive friends list. Compared to someone like Michael Arrington from Tech Crunch anyway who was overwhelmed by the whole affair before writing the below post.

I'm sure that Rafa Benitez will have been listening to So Solid Crew last night and their song 21 seconds. Liverpool only had about that amount of time left last night to see the game out and almost book their place in the final. It was a decent game, even more so if you were a Liverpool supporter as they looked comfortable and threatening in attack. Chelsea although starting well faded after about fifteen minutes and it wasn't a matter of if Liverpool would score but when it would happen and also how many times.

Torres looked dangerous and always looked like he would beat the offside trap. Alonso had a great game with his range of passing and Carragher was colossal at the back. Liverpool scored their goal just on half time in the 43rd minute, a catalogue of errors from Chelsea and Dirk Kuyt who was in acres of space eventually converted. It wasn't pretty but it was the goal to break the deadlock and with previous encounters being close this was very significant.

After the break Chelsea still looked uninspiring and it was frustrating watching as Drogba looked isolated and Liverpool always looked like scoring on the break. Time went by and Avram introduced Anelka for Ballack, this to me seemed a waste as what impact could he have coming on in the 86th minute. Very instrumental it turned out as his presence alone and that of the referee's time keeping led to the own goal from Riise which gives Chelsea a slim advantage. Exciting two games coming up at the Bridge now, will destiny favour us this time?!?!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Image via WikipediaYou are cordially invited to the birthday party of one Captain Planet, today is the special day where we celebrate talking to tree's, feeding the birds and rejoicing in Mother Natures beauty. Today is intended to inspire awareness of and appreciation for the Earth's environment. I started the day by opening the window and taking a deep breath, pollution always gives me that extra kick to get motivated and race to the sink to down two litres of water. I have visions of the Enchanted movie and animals helping me in the morning although I am greeted by the dog. Looking shifty as always and I can only presume that it's destroyed another of the children's toys in the night. Mouse trap buddy, keep on chewing threw things and one will be introduced.

Eventually I leave for the morning in a reasonable mood, reasonable because my phone somehow broke in the night. Also I am slightly frustrated at my web activity being seen as an annoyance and that the one morning I want to watch the Sports news is when the must see episode of Manny and the Tools is being shown. If only children understood autoviewing and Sky Plus, I think I will slowly introduce this into her vocabulary. Although I remember with the older children once they had figured out that DVD's could be rewound it was the beginning of the end. Maybe this is why I am not really an avid television watcher anymore, all those years of Barney the Dinosaur greeting me every morning. I feel like that left me with ticks, I swear!

I am a little erratic today as with the Champions League Semi Final only a matter of hours away now I am really nervous. I am hopeful that the nervousness I feel will be replaced by an ecstatic one later although I am not going to be optimistic and make any form of prediction as I don't want to rue anything I say later tonight. Whatever happens it will be an exciting and emotional game. One things for sure, that's if Captain Planet was on the pitch he would be telling all the player 'The power is yours'. Hopefully our own Captain fantastic John Terry can have a blinder and inspire the rest of the team to a famous win!!

Monday, April 21, 2008

I think that I am getting old now, my body is malfunctioning, I do a little exercise and I feel pain I have headaches that don't last hours they last days. Ah, whatever some pritt stick and staples should do the trick. Seems like Twitter could do with some repairs today as due to some cache changes made Friday, we aren't seeing all updates in our timeline. Life does go on but usually I see updates and links from friends directing me to the wonders of the world. Today I just had Google Reader which I am really getting to grips with. I have numerous feeds and blogs running through the site and I am slowly building the Internet that is catered for me. Yeah I kind of slowed down on Digg as there just doesn't seem much pace there so now I direct everything into Google Reader, Digg included. Today was hectic at work and I am certain tomorrow will be the same. Anyway just watching the Last Action Hero and I can hear my bed calling!

Obviously not a case of nothing to see here from StumbledUpon as I checked the site this morning I was greeted with the above image. A welcome reminder to people to venture outside once in a while instead of staring at the small box that connects us to the world. As there is an exciting world outside of Windows by looking out of the window and heading out to the StumbledUpon themed park. Come on we all have one around the corner!!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

The worst thing about the beginning of the year is the unpredictability of the weather. My three children are very active and require a lot of stimulation and even though sometimes I would just love a lazy weekend of doing nothing it would be an injustice to them. After football yesterday we had to stop back at home to pick up baby before moving on to Bluewater. It was quite busy, although it is a Saturday and I suppose it's expected still we had to dodge and swerve around a lot of people. We didn't really have a purpose for shopping but just came to get out of the house. Bumped into some of my friends I hadn't seen in a while but my boy choose to be awkward and I felt like pulling out a finishing move but decided to move along and count to ten.

Arrived home and followed the football and was delighted that Blackburn eventually held out to draw their home game against Manchester United. It at least gives Chelsea a sniff and hopefully we can now bang ten passed them to move top in the game next weekend.

Today seemed like a decent day and in the afternoon we got a taste of summer, it felt good so we headed out to a local park. The park has a small train that runs around the perimeter and we jumped on at the first opportunity and made our way up to the lake and children's play area. We spent a good few hours here with the children enjoying themselves. Playing in the sand pit, feeding the birds and then enjoying football for the afternoon. Afterwards we headed off to grab some food and then took the elder children back to their mother. From the sounds of things their house is becoming like a small zoo with Fox cubs in the garden and they have just got some Lizards which will keep them amused I am sure. I am sure their hamster feels like his days are numbered once the Lizards get bigger. Just watching Swordfish with my Girl now and then off to bed...

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Today order was resumed with my son's football as last week he went away with his Aunt's boyfriend who took him to work for the morning. The day started with us playing football in the garden, my attempt to get him in the mood for playing. Last time he didn't seem interested so I wanted to build him up and get him chomping at the bit to score. He was very enthusiastic, telling me that he was going to score eight goals and knocking the ball around the garden. This was until he fell over on the concrete and cut up his knees. This was only a minor setback as he was still well in the mood. Today was the best he has played, he interacted with the other boys and wasn't put off by the rain. He rain end to end in all of the matches and it was great to see him happy. He even earnt a penalty and was unlucky to convert from the spot. That first goal is coming!!!!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Image via WikipediaOn another note it was great to watch a half decent Chelsea performance last night, there is still hope that we can upset the odds and win the league but it's an outside chance. I watched the game locally in a pub as there were programmes on that my Girl wanted to watch. Normally football doesn't take place on a Thursday so it doesn't cause disruption, felt like I was neglecting her although she said that she didn't mind but wished I had told her earlier.

This is definitely an area I need to work on as I have to stop leaving decisions until the last minute. I didn't really feel that great as I had a bad headache and choose to lay down for a short period of time. After mulling about I decided to head out to find a pub, this took a good twenty minutes which amazed me. Figured that with only a few games remaining that this would be a cracking match especially with Everton also needing the points to remain in the hunt for the final Champions League place. Everton have been unlucky against the big clubs this year and I was happy that the run continued last night as Essien scored the only goal of the match to move us within two points of United. They have a game in hand but the pressure is on them!! The pressure is clearly on Avram Grant as well and anyone watching his post match interview must be wondering what he was on about. Lets hope that the wheels aren't about to fall off!!

Image via WikipediaThe start to my daily routine is never calm, it's always a mad rush for me to get out of the door. This always seems to be around 7:45 with me grabbing everything I need and running up the path to the car. Once there it's a short drive to where I park everyday and then power walk to the station. I usually have just enough time to stop in the shop and grab a Sun newspaper before heading down to the platform and grabbing the free paper. The train journey is usually the same everyday with the loud girl I moved carriages from because she hurts my ears to be with my new best friend 'The Runner'.

He was on my train this morning, looking shifty and running late but clearly he was in the mood for a race. I figured he was late or absent from work as the doors closed without him but there he was once the train pulled away heading up through the carriages until he reached mine. I peer at him over my newspaper laughing as he is great entertainment. I am going to try and take a photo of him, like David Attenborough and the animals. The doors opened and off he goes, he ran a short distance and then slowed. I carried about my usual sexy walk, rocking my deck shoes and as I draw close he's like a Deer in the headlights. Until Monday mate!!

Anyway the reason for all this is to lead to my Tube journey and how much I hate being crammed into such a confined space with about thirty bodies squeezed up against mine. Yesterday was a nightmare as I was stuck on the Tube for thirty minutes as some funny person had pulled the alarm. That was annoying but today was worse, once we got to London Bridge it was like wild animals got on. There was the old Rhino wearing his beanie hat and looking very angry, you could almost see the steam coming out of his nose. There was a Hippopotamus, she stormed onto the train, 'I'm coming on!!' which in Hippopotamus for you are not stopping me getting on this train. Then you had the Chimpanzee's who tackled her and were laughing whilst hanging from the bars and asking what she was doing.

Well we all moved on our journey and I felt like Noah, once the Tube stopped at Bank there was a lack of room but people squeezed out. This alerted Rhino who had been minding his own business, clearly annoyed at the pushing he aimed an elbow in my direction. Who wants to Dolittle in these situations, he talks to the animals?! I was a little stunned and nearly swallowed my gum, if his elbow had connected I am sure he would have knocked the wind out of me. I confronted him and we had an exchange with him choosing to open his newspaper and start reading. I was fuming, I could feel my whole body full of anger and I locked my gaze on him without breaking my stare. He said nothing after this and the journey continued with people around us looking uneasy. At the next stop the guy seemed to hang back a little, I figured he would say something but instead he leaned into me to which I leaned back forcing him off the train. He then did the little boy thing of trying to start something whilst walking away to which I laughed and he responded with the same continuing to point in the direction he was going. I wonder if we will meet again, I'm sure we could end up being friends, poke buddies even. We shall see I suppose!!!!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

I think that I have nailed it with my current Twitter background as why do people read what we write!! The artwork is by Banksy, the guy is amazing if only I knew who he was as I am looking to start decorating!!

It has been a busy couple of days from all the sites that I follow and applications that I use frequently. Firstly I will start by saying that I am publishing this post from Facebook using a new application launched by TypePad - Blog It - which enables me not only to write to Blogger but several other sites as well. This is a great addition and about time as well as if Facebook wants to be the central point for lifestreaming then it needs applications like Blog It.

Which brings me on to their lifestreaming service announced apparently aimed at rivaling FriendFeed. Come on it is very lacking offering the import of Flickr, Picasa, Yelp, and del.icio.us information into your mini-feed. I think that they missed the boat here as FriendFeed offers a great lifestreaming service. The FriendFeed API has enhanced this especially with the launch of Alert Thingy which has impressed me a lot. Alert Thingy is a work in progress as having already updated once we are now on to version 1.2 which enables me to Tweet directly to Twitter. Great addition especially if you are active on both sites! Where does that leave Twhirl you may be thinking, well not to be outdone Twhirl now allows FriendFeed...

Hopefully the above embedded YouTube clip will work if not I will edit within Blogger and submit again because as the disclaimer states 'HTML allowed. Some services may remove tags that are not allowed'. As you can tell if this is the first post of mine that you have read I am an active follower of Social Media. So much so that I was asked by Sarah Perez from Microsoft 10/Read Write Web to provide details along with others on our web activity. I responded and ended up in the article which you can read about here. Anyway I better get on with some work, currently installing applications on a customers computer and wondering where society would be now if we didn't have social media or worse the Internet!!

Update:Well after several failed attempts I was pleased that I had at least copied the contents to a notepad to save me having to type everything out again! Feel like Dorothy, there's no place like home, there's no place like home...

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Lots of distractions currently around at the moment which are frustrating but what can you do. It's been a strange week really as the weather hasn't made it's mind up, opinions seem to constantly differ, I still feel hunover from the weekend (honestly) and heaven forbid growing hair as it's the beginning of the twist. Or is it?!?

Wednesday Club in full effect tonight, at times I still feel like the other man, lurking outside in the car peering over the steering wheel. Waiting patiently listening to tonight's choice The Enemy belting out from the speakers and scratching my head over why I can't access either Twitter or Facebook on my phone. I admit obsession so sign me up to a clinic or the next social application, feed me!

Called my Girl up to try and wind her up but she weren't having any of it and quickly put the phone down on my attempts to sound like a derranged sheep hiding in a tractor outside the farmers house. Where is my hay, hey anyway!! Next time I arrive on the overlap I am going to lay in the front garden and pretend something has happened to me. Sit in the tree, maybe build a scarecrow or something. I believe though that these pages are followed so I'm sure the next visit will lead to them scouring the perimeter as to my whereabouts so I won't give the game away as I head off to purchase a tent.Anyhoo tonight was a casual night as we headed over to my parents with all my children. Had to stop and pick up each of them from different locations which was fun. Never met the eldests friend before so knocking there for her was offkey as I felt rude. Needless to say Boy almost started over a chocolate bar but it passed without incident. At my parents the Youth Cup final was scheduled to be played although someone was watching the wrong match completely. Needless to say it was the usual Chelsea playing as the younsters also get so far and lose. The weight of expectation is clearly pushing down on Stamford Bridge in a big way. Having an early night tonight as feel knackered...